A Miraculous Coup
by TheGrantster
Summary: Hawk-Moth has been patiently waiting for his opportunity to catch Ladybug when she least expects it. Finally, his opportunity comes when he akumatizes Adrien/Cat Noir! However, Hawk-Moth's meticulously crafted plan quickly falls apart. Will Hawk-Moth finally get his hands on the Miraculous and achieve his evil goals? Will Ladybug & Cat Noir be able to keep their identities secret?
1. Part I

**Author's note: MINOR SPOILER ALERT If you have not yet figured out Hawk-Moth's true identity, this story _may_ spoil it... or it may help you figure it out! I'll let you make that judgement call.**

Part I

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Cat Noir recite in unison after successfully thwarting and de-evilizing Hawk-Moth's latest akuma. "I'd love to stay for another interview, but I've gotta dash, bug out!" Ladybug explains to the eager reporters, tossing her magic yoyo into the rooftops above. "Wait, Ladybug, there's something I need to tell you!" Cat Noir calls after her. He extends his baton, shooting himself into the rooftops.

Ladybug stops and groans, waiting for him on a nearby roof. "What does he want now?" Ladybug mutters to herself. Cat Noir lands next to her and Ladybug says, "You'd better make it quick, we're about to change back!" Indicating to her and Cat Noir's Miraculous.

"I know, it's just that I've been meaning to tell you…" Cat Noir begins.

"What? Cat got your tongue? C'mon, out with it!" Ladybug insists, making no effort to suppress her impatience.

Cat Noir puts his hand on her shoulder and says, "Ladybug, I've been wanting to tell you that ever since the day I first met you, I've been in love with you. I haven't had the courage to say anything before now because… I guess I've just been afraid that you don't feel the same way." Cat Noir looks away from her, and Ladybug grasps his hand on her shoulder. Cat Noir's eyes widen as Ladybug looks up into them. "I know." She states, "I've… err, I've kinda always known." Ladybug's earrings beep-leaving only two more minutes until she changes back! "But as much as you love me, it just couldn't possibly work between us." She says, removing his hand from her shoulder.

"What do you mean? Of course it could work! All I'm asking is a chance. Please, Ladybug, if you just give it a chance."

"I just don't think that I can." Ladybug explains, clasping her elbow.

"And why not? Is it because our identities have to remain secret?"

"Surely you must understand." She insists, turning to leave.

"But we can still keep it a secret. We don't have to know who each other really is without the mask. It could still work. We have to try. Can we at least give it a try?" Cat Noir's eyes are pleading.

"It's not that.." She says, turning back to him.

"Then what is it? It won't change things between us! I promise, cat's honor." He says, holding up his right hand as if to take an oath.

"It's not that either. It's just… there's someone else I love." Her earrings beep again-only one minute now! "I have to go!" Ladybug asserts, casting out her magic yoyo.

Cat Noir falls to his knees as he watches Ladybug swing away. His jaw is quivering. His heart sinks deeper and deeper into his chest with each beat. "She loves… someone else..?" Cat Noir remains motionless as he transforms back into Adrian Agreste.

"Ouch! You know what they say, 'love hurts!'" Plagg exclaims as he emerges from Adrian's ring. "Can we go home? I'm exhausted! I need some Camembert pronto!"

* * *

"At last! This is just what I've been waiting for!" Hawk-Moth states with glee, gazing out from his observatory window. "Finally, my greatest plan is set in motion, and I shall get Ladybug's Miraculous when she least expects it! Now go, my little akuma and evilize him!" Hawk-Moth releases his akuma, and his evil laugh fills the chamber, his moths swarming around him.

Adrian is still on the roof, while Plagg tries to console him. "All I'm trying to say is that there are plenty of girls out there. On one hand, you're a superhero! On the other hand, you're a fashion model! C'mon, you can have practically any girl you want! Take your pick! How many girls are going to say no to both Cat Noir and Adrian Agreste, I mean seriously!"

The Akuma flutters over to Adrian and dissolves into his ring. A glowing purple symbol resembling Hawk-Moth's mask forms in front of Adrian's face, and Hawk-Moth commands, "Cat Noir-or should I say, Adrian Agreste. You're going to help me get your and Ladybug's Miraculous, and when my plan is complete, Ladybug will be all yours!"

"Tell me what to do, Hawk-Moth," akumatized Adrian implores.

"First, you're going to get Ladybug to reveal her true identity to you, but she must not know that you've been akumatized until after it's too late!"

"Consider it done," akumatized Adrian replies.


	2. Part II

Part II

Night has fallen, and akumatized Cat Noir is perched upon the roof of Notre Dame. Akumatized Cat Noir phones Ladybug with his gadget. "Ladybug, I need you to meet me on the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral. We need to talk."

Ladybug responds, "Cat Noir, what is it? Is Paris in trouble? Has Hawk-Moth akumatized someone?"

Akumatized Cat Noir answers, "No, we need to talk. It's about Hawk-Moth."

Ladybug gasps. Then she says, "I'm on my way!"

A few minutes later, akumatized Cat Noir spots her, and she lands gracefully on the roof next to him. Akumatized Cat Noir's heart skips a beat as he stands up to face her.

"What have you found?" Ladybug asks with urgency. "Have you figured out why Hawk-Moth wants our Miraculous? Have you discovered a clue to his whereabouts?"

"I think that I know where he is hiding," akumatized Cat Noir says, "but we have to enter without our masks or he'll know it's us."

"But that mean we have to reveal our identities to each other! There has to be another way!"

"There is no other way. If we go in without our masks, he won't suspect a thing! Trust me," akumatized Cat Noir says, putting up a convincing facade. "We should transform back now so that we know who each really other is."

"Cat Noir, we can't! There has to be another way. Where do you think he's hiding?"

"I think that Mister Agreste is Hawk-Moth."

"What?! That can't be! How do you know?" Ladybug demands, finding it difficult to believe that her sweet Adrian's father could be the horrible villain terrorizing Paris.

"I know because… because he's my father." akumatized Cat Noir says as he removes his ring, transforming him back into Adrian Agreste.

Ladybug's eyes widen to the size of grapefruits as she stumbles backwards, gasping. "A-A-Adrian? Y-You're Cat Noir?!" Ladybug is lost for words. She keeps trying to formulate sentences, but only produces hopeless mumblings and stammerings.

Finally, akumatized Adrian declares, "Ladybug, I need to know who you are if we're going to infiltrate Hawk-Moth's lair and defeat him once and for all." Akumatized Adrian grasps her by the shoulders and says, "I need you to transform."

Unfortunately, Ladybug is so overwhelmed that she faints into akumatized Adrian's arms.

"Blast!" Hawk-Moth cries from his observatory, "None of this is going according to plan! Bring her to the Agreste mansion immediately, and take her Miraculous quickly! There will be no one to stop me this time! The ultimate power of the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous shall be mine! Mwahahahahahaha!"


	3. Part III

Part III

Marinette wakes up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar bed. She looks around and finds a huge room with very modern decor. After a moment, she realizes that she's in Adrian's room. She's in ADRIAN'S ROOM! Moments later, she realizes that she's in Adrian's bed. She's in ADRIAN'S BED! She puts her hands on her head and is about to scream, when she realizes that Adrian is asleep next to her. ADRIAN is asleep next to her! Her sweet Adrian, the love of her life, the boy who mesmerizes her and takes her breath away is IN BED NEXT TO HER! Not only that, but they were cuddling! She was CUDDLING, with her sweet Adrian! Marinette thinks that she is about to die, when Adrian starts to wake up. Marinette jumps out of the bed and darts into the bathroom. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! What is happening!?" Marinette exclaims, trying her very hardest not to scream. "Am I dreaming? This has to be a dream. There's no other explanation. Although this feels way too real to be a dream…"

She searches her pockets for her phone, and it's nowhere to be found. "Marinette?" A voice calls from the other side of the bathroom door-it sounds like Adrian! "What do I do? What do I do?!" Marinette is freaking out! She tries to calm herself down by saying, "Okay, I'm in Adrian's bathroom, and I don't know how I got here… HOW DID I GET HERE!?" She turns on the light and looks into the mirror. Then she notices that there is a bandage wrapped around her head. She is confused because her head doesn't seem to hurt. "Marinette? It's okay, I can explain!" Adrian's voice insists. He starts to bang on the door and says, "Open up, I can explain everything!"

She opens the door rapidly, and Adrian falls on top of her. Apparently he was leaning too hard against the door. "Marinette!" Adrian exclaims, still on top of her. Marinette is petrified, and she only blinks in response. Adrian picks himself up then helps Marinette up off the floor, pulling her close to him. Finally, Marinette sums up the courage to say something barely comprehensible: "I was… and then Cat Noir… and then I was… but then you… and then Hawk-Moth… and… what?" Marinette looks like her eyes are about to cross when Adrian suggests, "It sounds like you had a pretty crazy dream." He is still holding her close to him by her waist. "You must've hit your head pretty hard!"

"Hit my head?" Marinette starts, "I don't remember-"

"Well, that's no surprise! My father and I were driving home after going out to dinner when we found you unconscious on the sidewalk. It looked like you fell from a building! Your head was bleeding slightly and your phone was shattered to pieces on the ground next to you. What were you doing?"

"I-I don't r-remember." Marinette stutters.

"You should take it easy. Come on, get back in bed. It's nearly three in the morning!"

Marinette realizes that she is still wearing her clothes from school, and Adrien is in his pajamas. "Do you have something more comfortable for me to wear? Marinette requests timidly.

"Of course, here let me find you something…" Adrian goes to his closet and finds an old shirt and shorts for her to wear. Marinette grabs her purse and goes into the bathroom to change. She opens up her purse, and Tikki is gone! Marinette reaches up to her ears and realizes that her Miraculous earrings are gone too! She throws the bathroom door open and cries, "Where are my earrings?!"

"Your earrings?" Adrian asks, scratching the back of his neck. "What's so important about your earrings?"

Marinette realizes that she needs to keep her mouth shut about the Miraculous. "It must have all just a dream. Cat Noir couldn't possibly be Adrian, and I can't tell him that I'm Ladybug!" Marinette says to herself.

"What was that?" Adrian asks.

"Oh, umm, nothing. I mean, it's not nothing. It's kind of important, but not that important, oh no. It's just ummm, they were ummm, my grandmother's, yea! And I need to ummm… find them?" Marinette drops to all fours and starts furiously searching the floor for her Miraculous. "Where could they possibly be?" She asks herself.

"They might have fallen off when you fell from that building. Seriously, Marinette you need to be more careful!" Adrian suggests, "come back to bed, we can go search for them in the morning. I'm sure they'll turn up eventually." Akumatized Adrian knows exactly where to find her Miraculous, in Hawk-Moth's hands! Marinette needs to find her Miraculous immediately, but the temptation of curling up next to her sweet Adrian and falling asleep on his toned chest overcomes her, and she gladly snuggles up next to him, almost unable to breathe.

"At last, Ladybug's Miraculous is mine," Hawk-Moth declares, holding up Ladybug's Miraculous earrings like a trophy, "and now she is powerless to stop me! All that is needed now is for Adrian to give me his Miraculous, and I will wield the ultimate power of creation and destruction! Mwahahahahaha!"


	4. Part IV

Part VI

Hawk-Moth gazes into his wife's glistening green eyes. "Emilie?" he says, almost in disbelief.

"Gabriel," she gasps, taking his face in two cupped hands. "How is this possible?" She asks. Her voice is sweet, like falling asleep to the hymn of a harp. "This is unbelievable. It's incredible. Its…"

"Miraculous." Hawk-Moth finishes her sentence, gazing into her eyes with the passion of a wildfire.

Emilie Agreste realizes what her husband has done, and she says, "This can't be. You shouldn't have done this!"

"I couldn't help myself!" Hawk-Moth declares. "After I… after that night, I couldn't live with what I had done! I couldn't find any happiness in the world without you!"

"But this is not right!" Emilie shouts. "What happened cannot be undone, certainly not like this!" The look in Emilie's eyes is one of trembling fear.

"It was all my fault." Hawk-Moth says as tears start to fill his eyes. "I couldn't live with what I had done!"

"Listen to me, Gabriel. What happened was _not_ your fault. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it."

"I could have stopped you… I… I could have _saved_ you!" Hawk-Moth exclaims desperately.

"We both know that's not true." Emilie says, her voice growing sorrow. "If I hadn't sacrificed myself, we'd both be dead. And what would have happened to our son?" Hawk-Moth knows that she's right. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. When Hawk-Moth doesn't respond, Emilie goes on, "You mustn't let this selfishness blind you. The man I fell in love with would have saved Paris from evil, not become the root of it. The man I fell in love with would have let go of the past, not allowed it to consume him. The man I fell in love with used to wear that moth brooch, and now I can see that that man died the same day I did."

Hawk-Moth is lost for words. Emilie continues, "And now I can see that I was not brought here to stand by your side. I was brought here to stop you from upsetting the balance of the world!" Emilie steps back from Hawk-Moth and shouts, "Duuru, feathers up!"

A large, blue bug-like creature emerges from Emilie's pocket and flies into her peacock hair pin. Mrs. Agreste then magically transforms into Madame Peacock! _(Because "Mrs. Peacock" is trademarked!)_

Her superhero outfit is a dark-blue and turquoise leotard with a large peacock tail. Her mask is colored the same dark-blue. The mask is shaped exactly to her face, and it has nine blue fingers, just like her hair-pin, that cover almost all of her forehead.

"Feather fury!" Madame Peacock exclaims. She uses her super powers to summon hundreds of blue and purple feathers to surround Hawk-Moth. Using the feathers, she puts him in a sort of trance. Madame Peacock then goes up to the mesmerized Hawk-Moth, and she takes his scepter-where Ladybug's and Cat Noir's Miraculous are being held. She smashes the head of it on the concrete, sending the Miraculous spiraling in opposite directions. Instantaneously, Marinette and Adrian dash after their respective Miraculous.

Marinette manages to find her earrings in the flower bed, and Adrian finds his ring lodged inside a crack in the pavement. They both rush off to transform. A few moments later, Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive at the scene, ready to stop Hawk-Moth once and for all!

When Madame Peacock sees Ladybug and Cat Noir, she is startled. "It is an honor to meet you two." She tells Ladybug and Cat Noir, falling to one knee and lowering her head in respect. "It has been over a hundred years since your disappearance. Many of us thought you two would never return."

"No need to fear, mom-adame Peacock," Cat Noir says, almost calling her "mother," "because Cat Noir and Ladybug are here to set things right, as usual." He punches the air to demonstrate that he is all riled up and ready to go.

"What was that you were saying about upsetting the balance of the world and whatnot?" Ladybug asks worriedly.

Madame Peacock responds, "By using the power of your Miraculous together, Hawk-Moth has set in motion a series of chain reactions that may very well tear this world apart!"

"Why would he do such a thing?" Ladybug asks, bewildered by the very notion of it.

"I think he believed that he could bring me back. Then, with my help and both the Miraculous at his disposal, he could stop the horrors that lie in store for us." Madame Peacock explains.

"Well what's stopping us from stopping these 'horrors?'" Cat Noir asks, hungry for a fight. "Besides, I've got some serious paw-back to give for being akumatized!"

"It's not that simple. You see, the Miraculous are what bring on these horrors. The more they're used together, the more the world tries to tear itself apart to reach an equilibrium." As Madame Peacock finishes her sentence, they feel a great tremor beneath their feet. "It's starting!" Madame Peacock cries. "In a few hours, all of Paris could be reduced to a pile of rubble!"

"Well, then we'd better hurry!" Ladybug declares.

Madame Peacock releases Hawk-Moth from the trance, and he says, "How could you turn on me? After all that I've done to return you to my side, this is how you repay me?"

"If that's what you truly believe, yes. I cannot stand by your side. By taking possession of the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous, you have shattered the balance of the world that we fought so hard to achieve all those years ago!"

"If you do not stand with me, then you stand against me!" Hawk-Moth looks around for his scepter, then realizes that Ladybug and Cat Noir are with Madame Peacock. "You may have returned the Miraculous, but I still have my akuma!" Hawk-Moth says, releasing Cat Noir/Adrian's evil akuma after him.

Ladybug tries to catch it with her yoyo, and Cat Noir tries to dodge it, but the akuma manages to get past and corrupt Cat Noir's ring once more. Hawk-Moth says to Cat Noir, "This time, I don't want you to take Ladybug's Miraculous. I want you to kill Ladybug! She has foiled my evil plans for the LAST TIME!"

Cat Noir answers, "Do you like your Ladybug minced or mashed?"

Ladybug and Madame Peacock gasp, and Cat Noir pounces on Ladybug. His hands clasp around her neck, and Ladybug gasps for air. She can feel her head getting lighter and lighter. She starts to see stars around the edges of her vision, and her last thought is "Adrian…" before she feels her neck freed. Madame Peacock wrestles a wily Cat Noir as Ladybug gasps for breath on the ground, coughing and choking on her own strained breaths.

Then, Hawk-Moth sighs, "Why must I do everything myself?" Hawk-Moth starts to approach Ladybug, and she uses her Lucky Charm! A box of matches falls into her lap. She opens it up and finds a single, red-and-black, polka dotted match. "What am I supposed to do with this?" Ladybug announces with confusion.

Before Ladybug gets a chance to sum up her surroundings, Hawk-Moth is towering over her. She tries to get up, but Hawk-Moth stomps his foot on her chest, pinning her to the ground. He lowers himself to her with his foot still firmly pressed down onto her chest. "How's it feel to be squished like the pest you are?" Hawk-Moth asks rhetorically. The fire in his eyes are that of a killer. Ladybug fears that this is the end for her.

Then, another tremor shakes the ground, and a small crack in the earth opens up next to where Ladybug is pinned. Hawk-Moth ignores the shaking of the earth beneath him, and he picks up Ladybug by her neck with one hand. "Now, how's it feel to be crushed?" Hawk-Moth spits, holding her high above his head by her neck. "How does it feel to know that you've failed?" Tears start to swell in Ladybug's eyes as she fights and fights to catch a breath. Her tears are partly due to the constriction of her throat and partly due to the acknowledgement of her utter failure. Hawk-Moth has beaten her. There is nothing that she can do now. It's finally over, and she is the loser.

As her head starts to feel lighter and lighter, Ladybug notices a peculiar smell. It smells like… _methane_! The gas from the crack! It's not over yet! Ladybug quickly fumbles for the match, and strikes it against the box. It doesn't light. She starts to see stars around the edges of her vision. She strikes it again. It still doesn't light. Her head starts to spin, and the edges of her vision go black. She strikes it one last time and the match sparks to life!

Ladybug is on the verge of losing consciousness. She flicks the match into the crack and… SWOOSH! The crack erupts, spewing flames everywhere! Hawk-Moth releases his iron grip on her throat. She falls to the ground, gasping for breath once more. Ladybug looks over and sees Madame Peacock on top of Cat Noir, pinning him to the ground. Then she sees Cat Noir's baton rolling toward her. Between her coughs and sputters for breath, Ladybug picks it up. Hawk-Moth is on the ground, disoriented by the explosion.

Ladybug makes her way over to Cat Noir and with Madame Peacock's help, she destroys the ring with the baton, releasing the evil akuma. Ladybug then uses her magic yoyo to de-evilize it. Cat Noir returns to normal, saying, "What happened? I was about to give Hawk-Moth a piece of my mind and a piece of my claws!"

Hawk-Moth may have been defeated, but Ladybug and Cat Noir know that Paris, not to mention the whole world, is still in great peril.


	5. Part V

Part V

Marinette finishes eating and figures that this is technically lunch, since she slept through breakfast. She is lost within herself, fantasizing about marrying Adrian. "Oh no," She thinks, "Once we're married, I'll have to constantly come up with excuses for why I'm not home while I'm busy fighting crime with Cat Noir. Then Adrian will think that I've been cheating on him, and we'll get divorced, he'll take custody of our children, and then I'll spend the rest of my life alone, eating ice cream from the tub, while watching romantic comedies and crying myself to sleep each night because no amount of ice cream and romantic movies could possibly fill the void in my heart!" Marinette collapses to the floor in defeat. "It's hopeless!"

She briefly wonders why Mr. Agreste wanted to talk to Adrian. Then it occurs to her: "Oh no! What if Mr. Agreste thinks I'm crazy because I hit my head too hard!? Then he'll never approve of our marriage in the first place!" Marinette wishes that Tikki were there. She'd know exactly how to cheer her up. "I have to find my earrings." She says to herself. "If Hawk-Moth were to show up now, it would be all up to Cat Noir to stop him!"

Marinette goes to the door, and when she peers around the corner, she spots Hawk-Moth with Adrian! "Come to me, my little akuma." Hawk-Moth says, as he extracts the evil butterfly from Adrian's ring.

"WHAT?" Marinette exclaims, unable to process what she is seeing. "Adrian was akumatized the whole time!?" Marinette sees that Hawk-Moth has her earrings, and she curses, saying, "Where is that dastard cat?"

Adrian collapses to the floor as Hawk-Moth releases him from the akuma, and Hawk-Moth states, "With Ladybug's and Cat Noir's Miraculous combined, unlimited power is mine!"

Marinette then realizes that Adrian's ring must be Cat Noir's Miraculous, which means… "Adrian is Cat Noir!" Marinette facepalms herself saying, "How could I have been so stupid!? Adrian… Cat Noir… They look exactly the same!" Marinette then realizes that what happened on the roof wasn't a dream after all, and Cat Noir getting akumatized was all her fault (well, it was her fault via Ladybug). "Wait, if Adrian is Cat Noir, then that means that I'm in love with Cat Noir!" Then Marinette thinks back to Valentine's day and the run-in with Dark Cupid. "Not only that, but I've kissed Cat Noir, which means that… I've kissed Adrian!" It occurs to her that since Cat Noir is in love with Ladybug, that means that Adrian is in love with Ladybug too!

Hawk-Moth dashes off with the Miraculous, and Marinette goes over to Adrian, who is lying on the floor, looking around confusedly. "Where… Where am I?" Adrian searches his jacket pocket for Plagg, and discovers that he is missing.

"It's okay, you're in your house." Marinette explains.

"Marinette? What are you doing here? How did I get here? One second I'm on a roo-I mean I was err… at Nino's place, and now I'm here."

"You don't remember anything?" Marinette asks, awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. Adrian looks at her and says, "Wait, why are you wearing one of my old t-shirts?"

Marinette shudders and says with uncertainty, "Oh, I was just, I mean, I was… I don't remember either? Pretty, Pretty crazy, huh?" She starts fiddling with her fingers nervously, hoping that he will believe her story.

Adrian gasps, "We must have been akumatized by Hawk-Moth!"

Marinette quickly says, "Yea, I was akumatized too, and that's why I don't remember anything that happened over the last few hours. Yep, I definitely don't remember a single thing!" trying to sound convincing.

Adrian realizes that his ring is missing too, and says. "Oh no, I need to find my ring! I need it to trans, I mean… it's err, it's a family heirloom?"

"C'mon, we have to get going! Ladybug and Cat Noir are going to need our help." Marinette says, ironically. She helps Adrian get to his feet and they run after Hawk-Moth. Adrian is a bit confounded by her confidence. He has never seen Marinette take charge like this, and he finds her behaviour rather charming.

"Where are we going?" Adrian asks, trying to keep up with Marinette as they rush through the streets of Paris.

"To find Hawk-Moth!" Marinette explains.

"But what are we going to do when we find him? We're just regular people. Hawk-Moth is a super-villain. How are we going to help Ladybug?"

"I'll figure something out!" Marinette asserts. Adrian likes the new side of Marinette he has never seen before, but he is still terrified that they don't stand a chance against Hawk-Moth, at least, not without Plagg and his Miraculous.

"How do you know where to go?" Adrian asks between pants of breath.

"I'm just following the sirens!" Marinette exclaims, and Adrian realizes that they are heading right towards a police roadblock. He looks around the corner and sees a huge black and purple swarm. As he looks closer, he notices that the swarm is made up of hundreds of thousands of moths. He also notices that the swarm is heading right at them!

Suddenly, a bolt of black and purple lightning strikes the center of the roadblock, setting the cars on fire and causing a few of them to explode! Adrian's ears are ringing like mad, and he can't hear a thing. Marinette was knocked backward by the shockwave, and he goes to help her up.

Marinette tries to thank him, but neither of them can hear anything over the ringing of their ears. Marinette realizes that the swarm is heading for the Eiffel Tower, and she points to it with urgency. Adrian understands that she wants to go to the Eiffel Tower, but doesn't understand why. Marinette grabs him by the arm and drags him with her before he gets a chance to protest.

The ringing in Adrian's ears starts to recede, and he is able to make out the sounds of explosions and cracks of lightning coming from behind him as they make a mad dash for the tower. By the time they get there, their hearing has been restored, and Marinette explains that Hawk-Moth is heading for their current position.

"What are we going to do when he gets here?" Adrian asks.

"I'm still trying to figure that out!" Marinette replies.

"You brought us all the way here, and you don't have a plan!" Adrian shouts in disbelief. "What have I gotten myself into?" He asks himself.

"What would Ladybug do?" Marinette asks herself, trying to come up with a plan.

Meanwhile, Hawk-Moth has stopped his advance, and the swarm looms over the Champ de Mars. "Enough of this destruction," Hawk-Moth declares, "it's time to try out my powers of creation!" Hawk-Moth's swarm starts to swirl around him until it becomes a violent vortex. Adrian and Marinette look on in awe, thinking exactly the same thing: "I never knew my kwami was capable of such power!" Marinette and Adrian cling to a park bench to keep themselves from being sucked up by the winds.

Leaves from the trees, flowers from the garden, soil from the ground, and water from the fountain start to get sucked up into the vortex. Then Hawk-Moth starts to glow. All the matter picked up from the vortex gets ripped apart and fused together in Hawk-Moth's hands. Moments later, the matter starts to glow brighter and brighter until it's so intense, Marinette and Adrian are forced to look away.

When the light dies down, the swarm stops spinning, and Marinette and Adrian see Hawk-Moth standing in the garden with a beautiful blonde woman.

Adrian looks on in wonder and disbelief before muttering, "Mother?"


	6. Part VI

Part VI

Hawk-Moth gazes into his wife's glistening green eyes. "Catherine?" he says, almost in disbelief.

"Gabriel," she gasps, taking his face in two cupped hands. "How is this possible?" She asks. Her voice is sweet, like falling asleep to the hymn of a harp. "This is unbelievable. It's incredible. Its…"

"Miraculous." Hawk-Moth finishes her sentence, gazing into her eyes with the passion of a wildfire.

Catherine Agreste realizes what her husband has done, and she says, "This can't be. You shouldn't have done this!"

"I couldn't help myself!" Hawk-Moth declares. "After I… after that night, I couldn't live with what I had done! I couldn't find any happiness in the world without you!"

"But this is not right!" Catherine shouts. "What happened cannot be undone, certainly not like this!" The look in Catherine's eyes is one of trembling fear.

"It was all my fault." Hawk-Moth says as tears start to fill his eyes. "I couldn't live with what I had done!"

"Listen to me, Gabriel. What happened was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it."

"I could have stopped you… I… I could have saved you!" Hawk-Moth exclaims desperately.

"We both know that's not true." Catherine says, her voice growing sorrow. "If I hadn't sacrificed myself, we'd both be dead. And what would have happened to our son?" Hawk-Moth knows that she's right. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. When Hawk-Moth doesn't respond, Catherine goes on, "You mustn't let this selfishness blind you. The man I fell in love with would have saved Paris from evil, not become the root of it. The man I fell in love with would have let go of the past, not allowed it to consume him. The man I fell in love with used to wear that moth brooch, and now I can see that that man died the same day I did."

Hawk-Moth is lost for words. Catherine continues, "And now I can see that I was not brought here to stand by your side. I was brought here to stop you from upsetting the balance of the world!" Catherine steps back from Hawk-Moth and shouts, "Duuru, feathers up!"

A large, blue bug-like creature emerges from Catherine's pocket and flies into her peacock hair pin. Mrs. Agreste then magically transforms into Madame Peacock! (Because "Mrs. Peacock" is trademarked!)

Her superhero outfit is a dark-blue and turquoise leotard with a large peacock tail. Her mask is colored the same dark-blue. The mask is shaped exactly to her face, and it has nine blue fingers, just like her hair-pin, that cover almost all of her forehead.

"Feather fury!" Madame Peacock exclaims. She uses her super powers to summon hundreds of blue and purple feathers to surround Hawk-Moth. Using the feathers, she puts him in a sort of trance. Madame Peacock then goes up to the mesmerized Hawk-Moth, and she takes his scepter-where Ladybug's and Cat Noir's Miraculous are being held. She smashes the head of it on the concrete, sending the Miraculous spiraling in opposite directions. Instantaneously, Marinette and Adrian dash after their respective Miraculous.

Marinette manages to find her earrings in the flower bed, and Adrian finds his ring lodged inside a crack in the pavement. They both rush off to transform. A few moments later, Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive at the scene, ready to stop Hawk-Moth once and for all!

When Madame Peacock sees Ladybug and Cat Noir, she is startled. "It is an honor to meet you two." She tells Ladybug and Cat Noir, falling to one knee and lowering her head in respect. "It has been over a hundred years since your disappearance. Many of us thought you two would never return."

"No need to fear, mom-adame Peacock," Cat Noir says, almost calling her "mother," "because Cat Noir and Ladybug are here to set things right, as usual." He punches the air to demonstrate that he is all riled up and ready to go.

"What was that you were saying about upsetting the balance of the world and whatnot?" Ladybug asks worriedly.

Madame Peacock responds, "By using the power of your Miraculous together, Hawk-Moth has set in motion a series of chain reactions that may very well tear this world apart!"

"Why would he do such a thing?" Ladybug asks, bewildered by the very notion of it.

"I think he believed that he could bring me back. Then, with my help and both the Miraculous at his disposal, he could stop the horrors that lie in store for us." Madame Peacock explains.

"Well what's stopping us from stopping these 'horrors?'" Cat Noir asks, hungry for a fight. "Besides, I've got some serious paw-back to give for being akumatized!"

"It's not that simple. You see, the Miraculous are what bring on these horrors. The more they're used together, the more the world tries to tear itself apart to reach an equilibrium." As Madame Peacock finishes her sentence, they feel a great tremor beneath their feet. "It's starting!" Madame Peacock cries. "In a few hours, all of Paris could be reduced to a pile of rubble!"

"Well, then we'd better hurry!" Ladybug declares.

Madame Peacock releases Hawk-Moth from the trance, and he says, "How could you turn on me? After all that I've done to return you to my side, this is how you repay me?"

"If that's what you truly believe, yes. I cannot stand by your side. By taking possession of the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous, you have shattered the balance of the world that we fought so hard to achieve all those years ago!"

"If you do not stand with me, then you stand against me!" Hawk-Moth looks around for his scepter, then realizes that Ladybug and Cat Noir are with Madame Peacock. "You may have returned the Miraculous, but I still have my akuma!" Hawk-Moth says, releasing Cat Noir/Adrian's evil akuma after him.

Ladybug tries to catch it with her yoyo, and Cat Noir tries to dodge it, but the akuma manages to get past and corrupt Cat Noir's ring once more. Hawk-Moth says to Cat Noir, "This time, I don't want you to take Ladybug's Miraculous. I want you to kill Ladybug! She has foiled my evil plans for the LAST TIME!"

Cat Noir answers, "Do you like your Ladybug minced or mashed?"

Ladybug and Madame Peacock gasp, and Cat Noir pounces on Ladybug. His hands clasp around her neck, and Ladybug gasps for air. She can feel her head getting lighter and lighter. She starts to see stars around the edges of her vision, and her last thought is "Adrian…" before she feels her neck freed. Madame Peacock wrestles a wily Cat Noir as Ladybug gasps for breath on the ground, coughing and choking on her own strained breaths.

Then, Hawk-Moth sighs, "Why must I do everything myself?" Hawk-Moth starts to approach Ladybug, and she uses her Lucky Charm! A box of matches falls into her lap. She opens it up and finds a single, red-and-black, polka dotted match. "What am I supposed to do with this?" Ladybug announces with confusion.

Before Ladybug gets a chance to sum up her surroundings, Hawk-Moth is towering over her. She tries to get up, but Hawk-Moth stomps his foot on her chest, pinning her to the ground. He lowers himself to her with his foot still firmly pressed down onto her chest. "How's it feel to be squished like the pest you are?" Hawk-Moth asks rhetorically. The fire in his eyes are that of a killer. Ladybug fears that this is the end for her.

Then, another tremor shakes the ground, and a small crack in the earth opens up next to where Ladybug is pinned. Hawk-Moth ignores the shaking of the earth beneath him, and he picks up Ladybug by her neck with one hand. "Now, how's it feel to be crushed?" Hawk-Moth spits, holding her high above his head by her neck. "How does it feel to know that you've failed?" Tears start to swell in Ladybug's eyes as she fights and fights to catch a breath. Her tears are partly due to the constriction of her throat and partly due to the acknowledgement of her utter failure. Hawk-Moth has beaten her. There is nothing that she can do now. It's finally over, and she is the loser.

As her head starts to feel lighter and lighter, Ladybug notices a peculiar smell. It smells like… methane! The gas from the crack! It's not over yet! Ladybug quickly fumbles for the match, and strikes it against the box. It doesn't light. She starts to see stars around the edges of her vision. She strikes it again. It still doesn't light. Her head starts to spin, and the edges of her vision go black. She strikes it one last time and the match sparks to life!

Ladybug is on the verge of losing consciousness. She flicks the match into the crack and… SWOOSH! The crack erupts, spewing flames everywhere! Hawk-Moth releases his iron grip on her throat. She falls to the ground, gasping for breath once more. Ladybug looks over and sees Madame Peacock on top of Cat Noir, pinning him to the ground. Then she sees Cat Noir's baton rolling toward her. Between her coughs and sputters for breath, Ladybug picks it up. Hawk-Moth is on the ground, disoriented by the explosion.

Ladybug makes her way over to Cat Noir and with Madame Peacock's help, she destroys the ring with the baton, releasing the evil akuma. Ladybug then uses her magic yoyo to de-evilize it. Cat Noir returns to normal, saying, "What happened? I was about to give Hawk-Moth a piece of my mind and a piece of my claws!"

Hawk-Moth may have been defeated, but Ladybug and Cat Noir know that Paris, not to mention the whole world, is still in great peril.


	7. Part VII

Part VII

"You're beaten, Hawk-Moth. There's nothing you can do now." Madame Peacock pronounces. Then, Ladybug casts her magic yoyo, tying him up and rendering him helpless!

"What are you gonna do meow?" Cat Noir purrs jeeringly. Shortly after, the police come to take Hawk-Moth away. They confiscate Hawk-Moth's Miraculous, and they put Mr. Agreste in handcuffs.

"I hereby put you under arrest for over thirty separate acts of terrorism against the people and the city of Paris." The police officer declares as he puts Gabriel into the police car and drives off.

Ladybug slings her lucky charm into the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The polka dotted box of matches dissolves into thin air, and the destroyed buildings magically restore themselves. The craters in the roads magically repair themselves, and everything Hawk-Moth destroyed in the process miraculously returns itself to the way it was before.

Cat Noir looks to his mother, expecting her to vanish at any moment. After all this time, his mother is magically returned to him. He wishes that she could stay with him and take care of him in his big, empty house, now that his father is a convicted super-villain and all. But to Cat Noir's surprise, Madame Peacock doesn't disappear! The Lucky Charm doesn't restore her! Cat Noir's heart is lifted, and he embraces her.

"It's good to see you too, sweetie." Madame Peacock says, hugging him back. "But I can't stay here for much longer."

Cat Noir pulls away, "What? Why not?" He refuses to believe what she is saying.

"In order to bring balance back to the world once and for all," Madame Peacock says to Ladybug and Cat Noir, "you must… err… deal with me."

"What do you mean?" Cat Noir asks, holding back tears.

"We both know what I mean, Adrian." Madame Peacock makes no effort to hide it. She knows her own son with or without a mask. "I'm not really your mother."

"Of course you are!" Cat Noir cries, burying his face in her sternum. "You have to be." He mutters, "There's no one else."

"I was created by the Miraculous." Madame Peacock starts, "I exist… but only temporarily. In the same way Ladybug's Lucky Charm is the only way to restore the destruction, your cataclysm is the only way to destroy what has been created. It's the only way to destroy… me. The Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous have to exist together. They can only exist together. They complete one another. Any influx of one or the other causes the whole world to try to correct itself."

At that moment, another tremor occurs. This time, it is even more violent than the ones before.

"We're running out of time, Adrian." Madame Peacock announces. "You have to do it, now!" Madame Peacock grabs Cat Noir's hand, and places it on her chest. "We can't wait any longer!" She says, closing her eyes, bracing herself.

"I've never used my cataclysm on a person before. I, I don't think I can do it, not to you!" Cat Noir explains. Tears are pooling under his eyes. Another tremor strikes, and Madame Peacock and Cat Noir are thrown to the ground.

Ladybug wishes that there was some other way to set things right. This is the hardest thing Adrian has ever had to do, and she wishes that there was some way that she could help him. However, her part is done. There's nothing more she can do now, and she knows it.

Cat Noir strenuously inhales. He looks away and calls out, "Cataclysm!" Cat Noir feels his mother's body writhe and contort as she is overcome with excruciating pain. He hears her screams of torment as his superpowers rip her to shreds from the inside out. Cat Noir doesn't watch as his mother's lifeless body turns black, then dissolves into nothing. He falls to his hands and knees, crying, wishing that none of this had ever happened.

Then, Ladybug falls to her knees next to him, wraps an arm around him, and whisks them away from the scene. People were starting to crowd around them, and it would be moments before the news reporters arrived to ask them a thousand questions.

She stops on a nearby rooftop and sits him down so that he can lean his back against the chimney. Cat Noir is an emotional train wreck. She throws her arms around him and says, "It's okay. It's okay." trying her best to console him. "You did the right thing." She says as he cries into her shoulder. She rubs his back to make him feel better, and it seems to work.

Suddenly, she hears a beep from her earrings. Between all the commotion, she didn't even realize that she was already down to the last dot! She has less than sixty seconds before she changes back into Marinette! Cat Noir notices and says, "Will you stay? You already know that I'm Adrian Agreste."

Ladybug knows that she can't. It's bad enough that she knows who he is, and this would only make things worse. Yet, her heart tells her to stay with him. She wants him to know who she is. She wants to hold him tightly and never let go. What's a girl to do?

"Please, Ladybug, don't go." Cat Noir begs.

Ladybug looks earnestly into his bright green eyes and says, "Close your eyes."

Cat Noir obeys, inhaling in anticipation of… something. But before he gets a chance to exhale, her lips are on his, and she sweeps him off his feet. Cat Noir forgets all about Hawk-Moth and his mother, all he can think about now is how much he is in love with her. Ladybug's lips are sweet and soft. It's not sweet like a mother kisses her babe. It's an intense sweet that feels like an explosion, and at the same time, it feels like laying your head down on a pillow after an exhausting day's work.

Ladybug's earrings beep for the final time, transforming her back into Marinette during the middle of the kiss. However, Cat Noir is so lost, he doesn't notice. Marinette pulls away, but by the time Cat Noir opens his eyes, she's gone. Cat Noir looks around for her, then boosts himself up with his baton to see where Ladybug went.

As Cat Noir hops from one building to another in search of his lady, Marinette steps out from behind the chimney, and Tikki says, "Oh my goodness, what a day!"

"You could say that again." Marinette responds, exhausted.

"Why didn't you let him see you?" Tikki asks.

"I don't know." Marinette answers, "I guess I just wasn't ready to tell him."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't, even though you know who he's Adrian Agreste!" says Tikki.

"I know. Isn't that crazy?!" Marinette beams. "All this time, the love of my life has been my masked admirer!"

"We can reminisce about dream-boy later! We've gotta get home! Your parents are probably worried sick about you!"

"Oh my gosh, you're right! I haven't been home in almost twenty-four hours! They must think I'm dead!"

Marinette climbs down from the roof and rushes home.


	8. Part VIII

Part VIII

Cat Noir tumbles into his bed, and transforms back into Adrian as his face hits the pillow. It takes everything he has to hold back the tears. He just lies there, not saying a word, wishing he were dead. His father, Hawk-Moth, put behind bars. His mother, after losing her once before, killed at his own hand. He knew there was no other choice. He had to do it. There was no other way!

Not to mention his love, Ladybug. She kissed him. It is the only thing that keeps him from jumping out his window and landing on the concrete below. She kissed him. Ladybug had kissed him! The most wonderful moment of his life had just succeeded the most horrible, his mother. He killed her. She's dead now, and it was his fault. Everything was his fault. How could he live with himself now?

Why did she run? Why did she leave him there at the rock-bottom of a chasm of despair? What could he have possibly done in a previous life to deserve this? Adrian puts both his arms under the pillow and squeezes it against his face, hoping that it would cease his heartache. It does no such thing. He succumbs to it, the hurting. He wishes that he could have given his own life instead of taking his mother's. He wishes that the world had ended, because at least in that world, he wouldn't be in so much pain.

"Ladybug," he murmurs into the pillow. His eyes swelling at the very thought. "Hawk-Moth," he grumbles. His chest swelling in anger. This is all Hawk-Moth's doing. Hawk-Moth, his father, his wretched father, how could his father do this to him? Adrian swears that he will never forgive his father for this. He vows never to speak to him, never to look at him, never to even think of him as a father ever again. Gabriel Agreste is nothing to him, not anymore. Gabriel Agreste is a vile, despicable, abhorrent excuse for a human being. What he has done is less than human. It is the work of treachery. His very name is now synonymous to evil.

And now, there Adrian lies, all alone, in a big empty house, with no one there to console him. The tears come before long, and they come in woeful heaps. Plagg is starving, looking around for some spare Camembert, but he doesn't dare mention a word of it to Adrian. When he realizes there isn't any Camembert to be had, he just watches Adrian, floating indifferently a short distance away, unsure of what to say, or if he should say anything at all.

About half an hour later, there is a knock on the door, and Nathalie enters, saying, "Adrian, your father has left me instructions for you."

Adrian suppresses his sobs and snaps, "Go away. I have no father." Adrian forces his face back into the pillow and mutters to himself, "He is dead to me."

Nathalie is shocked by his surliness, but she backs out of the doorway and shuts it behind her.

* * *

The looks of relief on Marinette's parents' faces is something that Marinette will never forget. They give her the warmest embrace she can remember, and she fabricates a barely believable story about how she went to Alya's house to work on homework after school, then ended up falling asleep on the floor.

Her parents weren't upset. They were mostly just relieved that nothing awful had happened to her, especially with the crazy stories on the news and the Lady Blog! Marinette's father made her a special pastry for dessert after dinner, and Marinette was finally able to retire to her bedroom for the night.

"Oh Tikki, what am I going to do?" Marinette blurts out as she flops onto her bed like a dead fish.

Tikki flies across the room to her and says, "What do you mean, Marinette?"

"I messed up, big time!" Marinette groans, "What is Adrian going to think of me now? I just couldn't do it. I couldn't reveal my identity to him, not like that! And now I've made everything a thousand times worse, like always! Why can't I do anything right?

"What are you talking about, Marinette? You did great today! You saved the world again!" Tikki says.

"Akumatized Cat Noir and Hawk-Moth almost killed me today! I almost died! I wouldn't exactly call that a great success. If it weren't for Madame Peacock…"

"But you weren't killed," Tikki interrupts, "and that's what matters. If it's any consolation, Marinette, I think you did the right thing with Cat Noir today."

"I know…" says Marinette, "I know. I know. I know. I know. I know!" She sighs into her pillow. "I wanted him see who I really am behind the mask, but then I thought, 'He's been through so much already, what with finding out his father was the evil villain, Hawk-Moth, and his late mother was Madame Peacock, only to have his father arrested and his mother destroyed by his cataclysm… He adores Ladybug. What if he's disappointed to find out that she's just some clumsy, boring girl named Marinette, so he decides to pack his bags and move to Milan where he'll fall in love with some beautiful Italian model who will help him forget all about the loss of his parents because she makes the most amazing meatballs! Meanwhile, I'll be heartbroken. So heartbroken that I'll never love again, and I'll spend the rest of my life making cakes in my dad's bakery, because I'm so preoccupied with keeping Paris safe from evil without Cat Noir that I'll never get a chance to see the world or become a famous fashion designer!' I mean come on, I can't make meatballs!" Marinette sighs again. "It's hopeless!"

"Don't say that, Marinette." Tikki insists, "You can't give up on Adrian. He might not think anything of Marinette right now, but he's head-over-heels in love with Ladybug! When he finds out that Marinette is his Ladybug…" She trails off.

"What are you saying, Tikki?"

"I'm saying that Ladybug shouldn't be moping in Marinette's bedroom while her partner, Cat Noir, is coping with the most difficult thing he's ever done in his life!"

"You're right, Tikki. He needs Ladybug right now."

"He doesn't need Ladybug, he needs you. It doesn't matter if you're Ladybug or Marinette. He's in love with you! Now get going, quickly!" Tikki announces.

With newfound confidence, Marinette shouts, "Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

At some point in his anguish, Adrian finally falls asleep. He sleeps for about an hour before there is a knock at his window. Adrian doesn't wake up. The window opens, and a slender figure slides its way through. The window closes, and Adrian wakes up to someone sitting down on his bed.

"Go away." he grumbles, his face still buried in the pillow. Nathalie had already tried to talk to him, and he still doesn't want to talk to her.

"That's hardly the way to speak to a lady." The figure says. Adrian perks up immediately.

"Ladybug?" He gasps as he looks up from his pillow. Sure enough, there she is, sitting elegantly on the edge of his bed. Her bright, red-and-black, polka dotted suit illuminates the room.

"Hey, ummm, so I was just… ya know… ummm." Ladybug stammers, but it doesn't matter what she says. She came. Ladybug came to be there for him. Adrian is so shocked that he can't even formulate a proper sentence. The only thing he can say is, "Ladybug." Adrian gets up from his bed, and he pulls her in for a big hug.

"A black cat told me you were going through a tough time." Ladybug says with a comforting smile on her face.

Adrian looks into Ladybug's eyes, and everything about the way he looks at her screams, "I love you."

Ladybug blinks back at him, "I love you too."


End file.
